Within its first 100 days, the new administration intends to break the deadlock over the common station linking Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1, Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3, and the proposed MRT 7, according to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.
To break the impasse, Tugade proposed to build the common station between the SM City North EDSA and Trinoma Mall.
During the Aquino administration, the then Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) proposed two common stations – one close to SM City North EDSA mall and the other near the Trinoma Mall to connect the three rail systems.
It was supposed to be a compromise for an earlier agreement with SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPHI) which did not materialize and the project has been in a legal entanglement ever since.
On September 28, 2009, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) forged an agreement with SMPHI to build a common station near The Annex at SM City North EDSA.
However, three years later, on May 29, 2013, the DOTC decided to locate the common station near the Ayala Group’s Trinoma Mall to cut costs.
On July 30, 2014, the Supreme Court issued the restraining order after SMPHI filed a petition to stop the construction of the common station and it has not been lifted for two years now.
This week, the Transport Secretary disclosed he has spoken to Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp. (the joint venture of Light Rail Manila Corp.) plus other parties involved in the dispute over the common station.
“I hope I can get the parties to agree in the first 100 days. We can tackle the issues in terms of policies and agreements, in the first 100 days,” he reiterated.
As of May, this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the LRTA and DOTC still cannot proceed with the transfer of the common station from The Annex at SM City North Edsa to the front of Trinoma Mall in North Avenue Quezon City.
The high court also deferred action on SMPHI’s petition for an injunction until the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC) makes a final decision on the civil action that SMPHI filed against LRTA and the DOTC in June 2014.
SMPHI sued both government agencies for specific performance and damages. The company maintained that the transfer of the common station violated a 2009 memorandum of agreement with LRTA that it should be constructed in front of SM City North Edsa.
The holding firm of tycoon Henry Sy also argued that the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) approved the location on July 7, 2009, and SMPHI paid LRTA P200 million as naming rights in exchange.
The DOTC bundled the LRT-MRT common station in the P65-billion LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension Project – the biggest public-private partnership initiative of the Aquino administration.
DOTC relocated the common station after a study showed government can save P800 million to P1 billion if the station is built close to Trinoma, the adjacent mall owned by SMPHI’s rival, Ayala Land, Inc.
http://www.mb.com.ph/dotc-to-break-common-station-impasse/
To break the impasse, Tugade proposed to build the common station between the SM City North EDSA and Trinoma Mall.
During the Aquino administration, the then Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) proposed two common stations – one close to SM City North EDSA mall and the other near the Trinoma Mall to connect the three rail systems.
It was supposed to be a compromise for an earlier agreement with SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPHI) which did not materialize and the project has been in a legal entanglement ever since.
On September 28, 2009, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) forged an agreement with SMPHI to build a common station near The Annex at SM City North EDSA.
However, three years later, on May 29, 2013, the DOTC decided to locate the common station near the Ayala Group’s Trinoma Mall to cut costs.
On July 30, 2014, the Supreme Court issued the restraining order after SMPHI filed a petition to stop the construction of the common station and it has not been lifted for two years now.
This week, the Transport Secretary disclosed he has spoken to Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp. (the joint venture of Light Rail Manila Corp.) plus other parties involved in the dispute over the common station.
“I hope I can get the parties to agree in the first 100 days. We can tackle the issues in terms of policies and agreements, in the first 100 days,” he reiterated.
As of May, this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the LRTA and DOTC still cannot proceed with the transfer of the common station from The Annex at SM City North Edsa to the front of Trinoma Mall in North Avenue Quezon City.
The high court also deferred action on SMPHI’s petition for an injunction until the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC) makes a final decision on the civil action that SMPHI filed against LRTA and the DOTC in June 2014.
SMPHI sued both government agencies for specific performance and damages. The company maintained that the transfer of the common station violated a 2009 memorandum of agreement with LRTA that it should be constructed in front of SM City North Edsa.
The holding firm of tycoon Henry Sy also argued that the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) approved the location on July 7, 2009, and SMPHI paid LRTA P200 million as naming rights in exchange.
The DOTC bundled the LRT-MRT common station in the P65-billion LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension Project – the biggest public-private partnership initiative of the Aquino administration.
DOTC relocated the common station after a study showed government can save P800 million to P1 billion if the station is built close to Trinoma, the adjacent mall owned by SMPHI’s rival, Ayala Land, Inc.
http://www.mb.com.ph/dotc-to-break-common-station-impasse/
